Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698930588073.pdf (Namibia)
REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER MOTIVATION FOR BUDGET ALLOCATION ON VOTE 02: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER ON THE APPROPRIATION BILL, 2021 PRESENTED BY SAARA KUUGONGELWA-AMADHILA, MP PRIME MINISTER 19 APRIL 2021 1 Honorable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, Honorable Members 1.

Introduction 1.1.
Introduction 1.1.

I rise to motivate to this august House the proposed budgetary allocation to Vote 02: Office of the Prime Minister, for the 2021/22 financial year totaling N$416,998,000 (Four hundred and sixteen million, nine hundred and ninety eight thousand Namibia Dollars).

1.2.

The previous year was one of the most challenging, with the Covid-19 pandemic disrupting implementation of government programs and thus public service delivery.
The covid interventions also resulted in the redirection of funds from initially agreed activities to fight Covid-19 and deal with its socio-economic impact.

2.

Summary of 2020/21 Activities & Achievements 2.1.

I wish to briefly give an account on some of the activities of the Office during 2020/21.

2.2.

As part of disaster risk management, Government mobilised resources from donations to complement government allocations to fight Covid-19.
A dedicated Covid-19 bank account was opened into which was paid the N$51,742,578.24 which was raised through donations.

Government contributed N$63,193,735.28 for non-medical Covid related activities, in addition to the allocations made to the Individual sectoral votes.

The total expenditure for non-medical COVID-19 response under this program amounts to N$56,942,250 and was allocated to food assistance (Covid food) during lockdown, masks for vulnerable persons and logistics and transportation costs.
I gave a detailed account to this August house on this and also published the information in local newspapers on 22 and 25 September 2020.

2.3.

The Office also administers the disaster risk fund.
The following expenditure were incurred from the disaster risk fund towards emergency relief activities:- Name of Programme Amount § Food Assistance (Covid-19) 63,601,119.00 § Livestock Support 40,228,220.00 § Logistics 19,948,734.00 § Covid-19 Response (Twaloloka Housing Assistance – Services) 1,815,268.00 § Water Provision (Extension of Pipelines) 12,216,083.00 § Pest Control (Locust Outbreak) 1,927,129.00 § Embankment of Schools 206,012.00 TOTAL 139,942,565 2 2.4.
An amount of N$15 million has been set aside to assist the fire victims at Twaloloka to purchase construction materials for new houses, and N$20 million was committed to fighting locusts invasion across the country.

During the 2019 drought, an amount of N$249 million was paid to all Regional Councils for water provision, as a resilience building measure.

2.5.

The Office is responsible for the hosting of national events.
During the last financial year, the following resources were used per types of events:- Event Amount § National Days (30th Independence Celebration) 750,774.42 § State& Official Funerals 2,287,162.79 2.6.

The Government remains committed to the improvement of performance through the promotion of innovation and unlocking talent management in the public service.

To this end, a Public Sector Innovation Policy was launched in August 2020.
The implementation of the Policy has commenced with training of Innovation Champions for O/M/A and Regional Councils now underway.

2.7.

In the area of public service management, we have concluded the review of the Public Service Act, 1995 and held consultations with key stakeholders.

Once legal scrutiny of the Bill is concluded, the draft Bill will be submitted to legal drafters after approval by Cabinet.

The review of the PSEMAS is progressing to revamp the governance and benefit structure of PSEMAS.
Efforts to contain payroll expenditures and eliminate leakages related thereto are also ongoing.

The payroll audits were conducted in O/M/As and the identified anomalies were corrected.

The payroll audits will be conducted annually.

2.8.

The NEEEF Bill has been subjected to legal drafting, and is now subject of consultations with the private sector through the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board.
The Office has also finalized consultations on the revised National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, which will be submitted to Cabinet for approval during the first quarter of this financial year.

As part of providing civil servants with alternative financing options, support is provided to the Namibia Savings and Credit Cooperatives, which is spearheaded by a Board drawn from staff members.

3.

Vote Allocation 3.1.


In the interest of time, let me now briefly elaborate on the programmes for the financial year 2021/22 and the allocated funds to Vote 02.

The Vote is allocated a budget amount of N$416,998,000 (Four hundred and sixteen million, nine hundred and ninety eight thousand Namibia Dollars).

3 3.2.
3 3.2.

Of the proposed allocation, an amount of N$394,079,000 (Three hundred and ninety four million, seventy nine thousand Namibia dollars) is for operational expenditures and N$22,919,000 (Twenty two million, nine hundred and nineteen thousand Namibia dollars) is for the development expenditure for the renovation of the United House building.

4.

Vote Programmes 4.1.

Programme 1: Government Leadership Administration and Coordination 4.1.1.
This programmes entails provision of administrative support to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister to enable them to execute their constitutional duties.

4.1.2.

It also entails provision of secretarial and technical support to the Public Office Bearers Commission (POBC).

The allocation includes retainer fees for Members of the Commission and the Secretariat’s staff remuneration.

4.1.3.
4.1.3.

An amount of N$14,110,000 (Fourteen million, one hundred and ten thousand Namibia Dollars) is requested under this programme.

4.2.

Programme 2: National Disaster Risk Management 4.2.1.

This programme is responsible for the coordination and response activities of emergency relief and resilience building.

Currently, there is a drought being experienced in Kunene Region as well parts of Erongo and Omusati Regions.
In this respect, a drought relief programme was instituted since end of February 2021.

The estimated budget for this programme is N$160.3 million.

4.2.2.

During this year, the Office will undertake the following activities:- Continue with the provision of emergency relief and resilience building; • Development of regional risk profiles; • Development of the national disaster risk resilience strategy; and • Coordination of the conduct of the annual livelihood vulnerability assessments.

4.2.3.
4.2.3.

An amount of N$115,444,000 (One hundred and fifteen million, four hundred and forty four thousand Namibia dollars) is requested under this programme for this financial year.

Funding for drought relief will be supplemented by the available balance in the National Emergency Disaster Fund, which amounts to N$145 million.

4 Programme 3: Public Service Management 4.3.

4.3.1.
4.3.1.

The programme coordinates the public service management, which include coordination of performance management systems (PMS), business process reengineering (BPR), and promoting innovation in the public service.

With technical support of the European Union (EU) and UN Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Office has started a review of the PMS Framework, including integration of the system across all spheres of government.

4.3.2.
4.3.2.

Other activities to be undertaken are: • Finalization of the reform of the public service legislation; • Undertake staff satisfaction survey, starting with some OMAs and Regional Councils; • Review of the organisational structures of OMAs; • The implementation of the activities under public sector innovation policy, starting with induction of innovation champions in all OMAs and Regional Councils.

4.3.3.
4.3.3.

The total allocation to this programme is N$56,249,000 (Fifty six million two hundred and forty nine thousand Namibia dollars) for 2021/22 financial year.

4.4.

Programme 4: Improve the performance of the Constitutional obligations of the Public Service Commission.

4.4.1.

The Office of the Prime Minister provides secretarial services to the Public Service commission, as part of this programme.
This programme caters for budget allocation for the Commission and the running costs of the Commission’s Secretariat.

4.4.2.

An amount of N$23,312,000 (Twenty three million, three hundred and twelve thousand Namibia dollars) is allocated to this programme.

4.5.

Programme 5: Improve Public Service Information Technology Management 4.5.1.

Under this programme, the Office coordinates the development and maintenance of Information Communication Technology in the Public Service.
As part of this, centralized IT licenses are acquired to enable access to IT solutions.

4.5.2.

During the current financial year, the Office will prioritize online platforms for e- governance services and develop a framework for the human resources information management system.

4.5.3.

An amount of N$66,513,000 (sixty six million, five hundred and thirteen thousand Namibian dollars) is allocated to this programme.

5 4.6.

Programme 6: Improve Cabinet Administration Support Management 4.6.1.
The allocation under this programme is to provide secretarial support to the Cabinet and Cabinet Standing Committees.

Under this programme, the Office of the Prime Minister ensures accurate Cabinet records, and also undertake the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of Cabinet decisions.

4.6.2.

An amount of N$11,473,000 million (Eleven million, four hundred and seventy three thousand Namibia dollars) is allocated under this programme.

4.7.
4.7.

Programme 7: Improve Policy Co-ordination and Support Services 4.7.1.

The last programme includes activities related to policy supervision, administration of support services, financial and human resources management, and other auxiliary services to other activities of the Office of the Prime Minister.

The allocation includes an allocation for the maintenance of facilities to provide a conducive working environment for staff members.

4.7.2.
4.7.2.

For the execution of the activities under this programme, an amount of N$129,897,000 (One hundred and twenty nine million, eight hundred and ninety seven thousand Namibia dollars) is allocated.

5.

Conclusion Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee Honourable Members, This in short is a summary of our programmes under Vote 2, Office of the Prime Minister.
It is now my pleasure to present to this August House, the expenditure request for the Office of the Prime Minister for the 2021/22 financial year, which amounts to N$416,998,000 (Four Hundred and sixteen Million, nine hundred and ninety eight thousand Namibia Dollars) for your kind consideration and approval.

I thank you 6